1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a soap container and support combination for a soap bar or soap chips or remnants bound in a sack dispenser that is hung around the body for use in showering. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bar soap container made of a particular dispensing material for holding the bar of soap while dispensing soap therethrough, mounted on an extendable, stretchable strap support that is hung about the neck of a person so that the soap dispensing sack can be stretched to contact any part of the body without removing the strap from the neck of the person.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of a bar of soap that is firmly attached to a loop, which is traditionally a rope, connected and mounted about the neck of the wearer for use in the shower is well known. The purpose is, of course, to prevent dropping the soap while showering. The primary disadvantage of such a bar of soap is that the rope is not longitudinally elastic so that it cannot be stretched, but remains in a fixed position. Therefore, in order to utilize the soap, the soap bar must either first be contacted and then the soap transferred by hand to other portions of the body, or the rope must be removed from the wearer's neck so that the soap bar can contact the unreachable portions of the wearer's body. Direct contact with soap on all parts of the user's body is not possible because of the inflexible nature of the loop extension. Another drawback is that the bar of soap is permanently mounted to the rope and therefore, once the bar of soap is expended, the rope is then discarded. An example of a soap holder and adjustable loop is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,571 issued to F. Ernest on May 17, 1966. Bars of soap can be inserted and utilized with the adjustable loop provided in the rope. However, the loop is fixed in length and cannot be stretched for direct application of soap to any part of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,759 issued to Ogilvie on Jul. 16, 1991, shows a water-pervious bag for holding a bar of soap while washing a person's body, the bag being comprised of a wide, loose weave. The loop is used to close the bag. No provision is made for supporting the bag and hanging it on the body of the wearer. Therefore, the primary drawback to the inventions as disclosed is that although soap has been supported on a fixed loop around the neck of the wearer, it is not easily usable for stretching to reach all areas of the body during its use.
The present invention overcomes these shortcomings by providing a soap dispenser that can be mounted on and around the neck of the user to allow dispensing of soap all over the entire body while taking a shower. The soap dispenser comprises a soap container which houses a bar of soap or soap chips or a liquid soap dispenser, and a stretchable, elastic strap formed in a partial loop that is connected to the soap container, wherein the user can grasp the soap container and stretch the elastic strap while it still remains around the neck of the user to touch any portion of the human body, including the feet, with the soap container.